Family Ties
by tinybit92
Summary: Sequel to my previous story, A Double Rescue. Three months after Slick's pummeling, Knuckles and Rouge are learning about and from eachother, and growing up a bit in the process. But what happens when Rouge's past sneaks up on her? KnuxRouge cuteness.
1. He's a pain

_Tinybit here, and I'm bringing something new. At the reader's request, and my whim, I give you the first chapter of my sequel to_ A Double Rescue._ Enjoy!_

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"Ah! Will you quit that! You're so immature." Rouge said with a smile, wiping away the water Knuckles had splashed in her face.

They were relaxing at the Angel Island lake together. Knuckles had gone for and swim and Rouge was relaxing until he soaked her.

"Ha! You haven't even begun to see immature yet." With that, Knuckles leaped out of the water and pounced on Rouge in a tickle attack.

"Ah, no! Hahahahaha! Stop! Ah!" She squirmed to get away but Knuckles had her pinned as he tickled her stomach furiously.

"Ha, I didn't know spies were ticklish." He continued his attack with a mischievous grin.

"Wah, hahahahahaha! Please, stop! Ahahaha, please!" Tears streamed down her face from the uncontrollable laughter.

"Fine. But you have to do something for me."

"Anythi-hi-hing! Haha, please!"

He stopped and gave her a moment to catch her breath, a triumphant smile plastered on his face.

"Wooh. Okay, you're right, that was way more immature." He was still sitting on top of her pinning her in place. "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

"Kiss me. And not just a light one either." He winked at her playfully.

Rouge smiled. "Well you didn't have to torture me for that." She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him into passionate kiss.

They'd been together for almost three months now, so this wasn't to out of the ordinary. Rouge's bones had healed now, though they still caused her occasional pain, and a scar remained on her stomach. Tails had come over and helped to repair the fractures in a very professional style, he'd even used some of his own methods to slightly accelerate the recovery. Because of this, he was currently the only other person who knew Knuckles and Rouge were a couple. They knew they'd have to tell everyone eventually, but for now it didn't matter.

Word must have gotten around about Nak and Slick's beatings, because since then, there'd hardly been any attempts to steal the Master Emerald. This meant lots of bonding time for Knuckles and Rouge.

Suddenly, Rouge's ear twitched and she broke away from Knuckles, suddenly alert. "Someone's on the island."

Knuckles tensed and looked around cautiously. They were both silent for a moment.

Then Rouge relaxed. "It's just Sonic. No one else's feet move that fast."

Knuckles eased up and rolled onto the ground next to her. "Well, technically Shadow's can"

"No, he's only as fast as Sonic because of his hover skates. They make a very different noise than Sonic's shoes."

"You weren't kidding when you said your ears were powerful." He smiled at her.

"No need to kid about it." she smiled back and sat up. "We should probably meet him at the altar, otherwise he'll be asking where we were."

"Yeah." Knuckles sighed and stood up, helping Rouge up as well, before they walked back to the altar.

They got there at almost the exact time Sonic did.

"Hey you two, what's up?" The blue blur said as he screeched to a halt in front of them with his usual grin.

"Not much." Knuckles replied. "You need something?"

"No." He shrugged. "Just thought I'd come say hi."

"Well hi then." Rouge said with a small wave.

Sonic stared at her for a moment before turning to Knuckles. "Okay, I'm not stupid. What's going on with you two? Rouge has been here _a lot_ lately. And I know her injuries are healed. So what's up?"

Knuckles blushed and glanced at Rouge.

She nodded. "We've got to tell him sometime."

"True." He sighed.

"Ooh, this is going to be more interesting then I thought." Sonic said, his grin widening.

"Knuckles and I are dating." Rouge said bluntly.

Knuckles blushed redder before saying. "She lives here now."

Sonic was silent for a moment before falling to the floor with uncontrollable laughter. "Hahaha! You're jokin' right? Knuckles has a girlfriend? Hahahaha!"

"And what's so funny about that!?" Knuckles said, indignant.

"Haha, sorry Knux, but you're just a little too hot-headed for me to believe it."

"Oh yeah! This coming from the guy who moves too fast to notice the girls chasing him."

"Pssh! I notice Amy, she's gotten too quick to ignore."

"Well that's not a very nice thing to say." Rouge responded.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. Ames is great, she's just a little overbearing. Still though, even if I did buy Knucklehead dating, him getting you?" Sonic arched an eyebrow from his position on the ground.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean!?" Knuckles flew back into a rage.

"She just seems a little out of your league is all." Sonic traced her curves in mid-air to emphasize his point.

"So you're saying I'm incapable of getting a hot girlfriend?" His eyes were narrowed in a death-glare that Sonic didn't seem to notice.

"Well, no offense, but you're a little too ditsy to have charmed her."

Knuckles nearly leaped at Sonic, but Rouge noticed in time too grab his arms and hold him back. "Woah. Calm down Knucky."

Sonic gave a loud snort. "Knucky."

"Shove it blue boy, you're not helping." She glared at him and he went silent.

Knuckles calmed down a bit and Rouge let him go, but he continued his deadly stare.

"Now," rouge continued, turning back to Sonic. "First off, Knuckles happens to be a very intelligent person when he's calm. Secondly, he's also got more than enough muscle to attract a 'hot girlfriend.' And thirdly, your just jealous because Knuckles gets all this and you don't." She imitated Sonic's previous hand movement to emphasize _her _point before sticking her tongue out at him.

Knuckles looked mortified, and Sonic was barley controlling a bout of laughter.

"You think you could have been a bit less… emphatic?" Knuckles said through gritted teeth.

"What? He's too dense to get it if I phrase it any different." She shrugged and it was Knuckles turn to grin while Sonic glared at the bat.

"Whatever." The hedgehog shrugged it off. "I still don't buy it. You're gonna' have to prove it."

Rouge looked from him to Knuckles and shrugged before going over to Knuckles and planting a gentle kiss on his lips right in front of Sonic.

Once she pulled away, Knuckles grinned and forgot Sonic was there for a moment, just staring at the batgirl.

Sonic's eyes were huge as he responded. "Well, I suppose that's proof enough." He got up and smiled. "While I'd love to continue this conversation, I've got to go spread this around the group." And before either of them could say a word, he dashed off.

They watched him go before Rouge spoke. "Well he can be a pain in the ass."

"No kidding."

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_Hehe, annoying hedgey isn't he? I realized one of the things my last fic lacked, was Knuckles getting pissed over something stupid. So there, problem solved. And I couldn't resist the tickle attack. Please review, it makes me happy. It also prevents Kirby and Slick from violently attacking you... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!_

_Oh, and to Hillary, you don't have to have an account to leave a review. ;)_


	2. Family

_OH MY GOD! I just had the most amazing rush of inspiration for this! And now I know exactly what I'm going to do with it! Before I just had a general idea, but this is way better! Because of this, I'm going to change the title and probably summary of the story. Now read on with what I wil henceforth call,_ Family Ties_._

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"So," Knuckles said from his position on the couch. "Now what?"

"What do you mean?" Rouge was walking back down the hall from her room, where she had just changed out of her wet clothes and into clean ones.

"Well, Sonic's going to tell everyone we know." Knuckles stated bluntly.

"So?" Rouge flopped next to him on the couch.

"So what do we do from here? Do we ignore it and wait for the inevitable stream of our friends coming to ask if it's true or is there something else we should do about it?"

"What else are we supposed to do? They had to find out sometime, and this way we don't have to hunt them down and tell them ourselves."

"True."

"Besides," she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Does it really matter? Who cares who knows, or how they find out? I'm just happy to be with you."

Knuckles smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him so he could feel her warmth. "You're right." he mumbled gently into her ear as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

She smiled and snuggled deeper into his fur. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Rouge started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Knuckles asked, arching an eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"Sorry." She giggled. "It's just that… all my life I've been putting up this tough façade to protect myself from the dangers of the world. Everything about my life, the lack of friends and family, my jobs, they require me to keep that show up, or I'll put myself in danger. But when I'm with you, I don't have to act." She turned and looked directly into his deep violet eyes. "When I'm with you, I can be myself. The real me. A normal person, just like everyone else. If the people I work with, or my enemies, ever saw me as vulnerable as I am with you, it'd probably cost my life. But it doesn't matter here. The only things that matter, are you and me."

Knuckles smiled. "So you were laughing because of how absurd the situation is in comparison to the rest of your life?"

"Exactly." She smiled.

They were quiet again. Then Knuckles suddenly looked confused. "Wait, you don't have a family either?"

Rouge turned slightly red, but didn't hesitate to answer. "No. I used to. It was just me and my mom. She died when I was 14. Hit by a car. I never knew my dad. Mom left him when I was two. He hurt her, and she didn't want me to be in danger from him too." She was quiet for a moment ,staring at her lap. Then she let out a small laugh. "It's funny to bring her up now actually. She always used to tell me that we didn't need men in our lives, that as long as we had each other, we didn't need anything else. She said no matter what, I should always stand up for myself, no matter how strong or scary the person I faced was, because you have to take care of yourself and the people you love. If you don't, then what's the point in living. After she died, I really took what she said to heart. To the point where I took care of myself and no one else. Because of how I grew up, I really distrusted men for a while. I thought the only way to keep myself safe from men, was to manipulate them. That's probably why I distrusted you at first, you're untamable."

Knuckles didn't know what to say. Rouge had just completely opened up to him. He felt warm inside, knowing that she trusted him enough to speak so openly, especially about something so personal. He responded the only way that seemed right, by telling her about his family. "I never knew either of my parents. As far back as I can remember I've been alone on this island, protecting the master Emerald. I'm not sure how I knew I had to, it was just something that was ingrained into me. For a while that was all I did. But I also learned everything I could about my home. Explored every tree, every rock, every stream. That's how I learned what I do know about my tribe. From the ruins and secrets on the island. Once Sonic showed up I learned more about the rest of the world. Couldn't really stay here forever with Sonic on my back."

They were silent again. After all that, what more could they say? Knuckles reached over and held Rouge's hand in his own. She squeezed his lightly.

"You know," she said quietly. "Since neither of us really has a family, I guess that kind of makes us one, huh?" She gave him a warm smile and looked him directly in the eyes again.

"Yeah." He said, getting lost in the oceanic depths of her eyes. "I guess it does." Knuckles leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, conveying through it the importance this realization meant to him that words could not express. He broke away and placed his forehead against hers. "I love you Rouge."

"I love you too." Nothing else needed to be said or done. As a couple, they had just reached a point that showed how deeply they really cared for one another. What else could they say?

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_What do you think? Let me know in a REVIEW! Reviews make me happy. I'm gonna go eat now. *skips merrily into the distance on a writers high*_

_(The writers high is from being so happy with myself about this story)_


	3. A Date And A Surprise

_OMG next chapter! Raaaaah! I'm so excited! . I'm having so much fun writing this. Enjoy!_

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"So it is true? That's so sweet!" Amy Rose squealed in excitement as she stood near the Emerald altar questioning Knuckles and Rouge. "How did you two get together?"

"That's a story I don't want to get into." Rouge said, shuddering ever so slightly at the memory.

"Something bad?" Amy asked gently.

Knuckles growled and wrapped an arm protectively around Rouge. "Let's just say, if it hadn't gotten us together, I'd probably go hunt the guy down and kill him for what he did."

"Pft. Don't give that freak any credit. I think we would have realized it soon enough even if I hadn't got the crap kicked out of me." Rouge half mumbled half growled.

"Oh, so that's why Tails had to come up here and help you out. Are you feeling better though?"

"Oh yeah. I just can't lift anything heavy with my right arm or put too much weight on my left leg. Otherwise, no problem." Rouge shrugged it off.

"Well have you been out on any real dates yet?" The pink hedgehog asked with a huge grin.

The couple was silent. Between the Master Emerald and Rouge's injuries, they hadn't left the island for months.

Amy gasped, understanding their silence and shocked by the news. "You haven't been on a real date?" She almost shouted.

"Well no but-"Rouge was cut off.

"Oh that's not gonna' work! You two are going out to dinner tonight. Me and Cream will watch the Emerald."

"But-" Knuckles started.

"No buts! We were going to go to the park anyway, and this island isn't much different. Besides, Cream will keep me on task so I don't wander off and find Sonic."

"Well, I guess-"

"Please Knucky?" Rouge clung to his arm and pouted. "It would be so much fun, and it would give us some real bonding time where we don't have to keep an ear out for that stupid rock. The girls won't let anything happen to it." She gave her most dazzling smile and moved only inches away from his face.

"Um… I… I mean, if you want to, then I guess it's okay." Although he initially didn't think it was a good idea, Knuckles couldn't say no to that face.

"Yay!" Rouge and Amy both jumped for joy, Rouge wincing as she landed too hard on her bad leg. She didn't let it dull her excitement though.

"This'll be great! You go figure out where we're going to go, while I pick out what I'm going to wear."

"Oooh! Let me help!" Amy squeaked.

"Okay." They ran back to the house, leaving Knuckles very confused.

"Great." he sighed and pulled out the cell phone Rouge had insisted he have. He speed dialed Sonic's house and was answered by Tails.

"Hello, Tails and Sonic's house, Tails speaking."

"Hey dude, it's Knuckles. Can you put Sonic on, I need to ask him something."

"Sure, no problem. Hang on." He heard the phone being set down and Tails calling for his blue friend. A moment later Sonic picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sonic."

"Oh, hi Knux, what's up?"

"Well, I need your help. Rouge and I are going out tonight and I was wondering if you know any good date restraints."

There was silence for a moment, followed by uncontrollable laughter. "Ha, whahaha! Hahahaha! You, ha, you need me to help you, *snicker*, pick a date spot? Hahaha."

"Yes Sonic." Knuckles was grateful he was over the phone and Sonic couldn't see him blush. "I've never even been to the city very often, let alone on a date. So I need your help since you go everywhere."

"Haha. Okay, okay. Let me think. Amy keeps trying to get me to go to Twinkle Park, but I don't think you guys would like that. You said a dinner place, so I guess… Oh! How about this little bistro on 12th street in Central City. It's supposed to be nice out tonight and they have an outdoor area for you to eat. The service is great and the waiter's will even put a rose on the table if you ask. Not to mention I hear they make a mean steak."

"Wow, that sounds perfect. How do you know so much about the place?"

"Oh… Um, well, you see… I was kind of thinking about places to take Amy. Just to get her off my back for a little while though! I figure next time she asks me out I'll actually accept and make her happy so she leaves me alone for a little bit."

Knuckles grinned. Sonic was using such a nervous tone. "That is such B.S. You know you like her you ass. Quit being such a coward."

"I am no coward! I just, don't really know how to deal with her."

"Uh-huh. Well thanks for the help Sonic. I'll talk to you later. And just so you know, she's going to be watching the M.E. for me tonight. I'm sure Cream will wander off at some point to look for flowers. You could probably catch Amy alone."

Sonic was silent.

"See you." Knuckles hung up the phone and smiled. He loved it when he caught Sonic off guard like that. He did it to Knuckles too often for him to not get him back.

It was several hours later when Knuckles was waiting in the living room for Rouge to come out. Cream, Cheese and Amy were waiting patiently on the couch to see them off before doing their job. "You ready Rouge?" Knuckles called down the hall.

"Just a second." A moment later Rouge walked out in her date outfit. She was wearing a knee-length lavender skirt, a deep blue T-shirt and a light blue jacket that matched perfectly with her low-healed blue Mary Janes.

Knuckles was surprised. She looked cute, and much less showy than usual. "Wow." he mumbled. "You look great."

"Thanks." She smiled as Amy giggled quietly from the couch.

"Well, you ready to go?" He asked sheepishly.

"Yeah." Rouge hooked her arm in his and they walked to the door.

The girls followed them out. "Good luck guys." Amy called. "Have fun."

"Will do." Rouge said with a wave.

They flew to central city together. Knuckles decided to carry Rouge in his arms on the way since she was wearing a skirt. They landed in front of the building a few minutes later and Knuckles gently placed Rouge on the ground.

"Thanks." She said, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

They walked to the front desk. "Table for two, Echidna." Knuckles told the man. He had called in advance and had them put the flower on the table like Sonic had suggested. He'd specifically requested a whit rose.

Rouge noticed immediately when the waiter showed them their table. "Did you do this?" She asked picking up the flower with a smile.

Knuckles just smiled.

"You're so sweet." Rouge said, hugging him lightly before they sat down.

It was a warm night, so they were perfectly comfortable. They ordered quickly and chatted while they waited for the food.

"You know," Knuckles said blushing lightly. "I've been wondering, and I hope you don't think it's rude but, it's about your fur. It's white on your head but tan on your arms. Does it stay tan the whole way down or is there more white?"

She smiled at his shyness. "There's a white patch on my lower back, and my feet are white too. The rest is tan."

He just nodded, his curiosity satisfied, he was unsure what to say next.

"My turn." Rouge said. "I was wondering about these." She grabbed his hand and pointed at his knuckle barbs.

He blushed again. "Oh, well, if you really want to see."

He pulled his gloves off to show her. His hands were as red as the rest of him, but where his index and pinky knuckles started, the bone protruded past his skin and fur and curved into the points.

Rouge's eyes widened. "That's crazy! Do you mind?" She asked, grabbing his finger tips. He shook his head and she examined them further. "Is this an echidna thing then?"

"Well, yes and no. Most of the tribe members just wore barbs in there gloves. I'm assuming my parents did it when I was a baby. But it might also be an individual guardian's trait." He shrugged.

"They look like they'd hurt." She mumbled.

"Not really. When I was a kid and I'd punch something really hard they'd sting, but I've toughened them up a lot."

"I can see that." She ran her fingers over the bones themselves and Knuckles flinched, unused to the touch. She smiled at him and kissed his hand. He blushed redder.

Suddenly the waiter came back with their food and Knuckles pulled his gloves back on, embarrassed. Rouge giggled slightly at how shy he could be.

They ate together and joked about their friends and Eggman, and other random things. Not long after they'd finished their food though, Rouge's cell rang.

"Just a second." She said to Knuckles before answering it. "Hello? Detective, I haven't heard from you in a while, what's up?" She seemed surprised and listened for a moment. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and her breath seemed to hitch in her throat. "W-what? For real this time? Is he in custody? Oh my God. When can I come? Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then Detective Leonard. And thank you."

She hung up the phone and looked at Knuckles. He could tell by her face she was terrified and excited at the same time.

"What's going on?"

"Th-that was the detective who was in charge of my mother's hit-and-run case. They finally caught the guy. I've been waiting four years for this." Her breathing was uneven and she seemed on the verge of tears.

Knuckles got up and pulled her into his arms. She broke down crying on his shoulder. He rocked her back and forth and shushed her softly.

"I can't believe it." She finally managed through her sobs, not bothering to lift her head. "Ever since she died I… I've wanted to know who did it. But I wasn't expecting it right now."

"I understand. This is a good thing though right?" He whispered so as not to hurt her sensitive ears, which were inches away.

"Yeah. It is, really. I guess I just wasn't ready." She gave a small laugh. Then, "Will you go with me tomorrow?"

"Of course." He rubbed her back gently.

"Thank you." She nuzzled into his shoulder and gave a small sigh of relief.

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_Wooh! So what do you think? I'm not making anyone mad by inventing a back story for Rouge am I? I know some people get irritated by that. Either way, squeeeee! I'm so happy! Review!_

_Slick: Hey, I'm not even gonna be in this am I?_

_Probably not. This is about Rouge's family._

_Slick: Oh dammit! But I'm so bad-ass!_

_Not really, you're just evil. Don't worry, if for some reason I write another sequel after this, you'll be in it._

_Slick: I'd better be. *holds up knife threateningly*_

_I thought Knuckles broke that?_

_Slick: He did, but I have like twelve more. Mwahahaha!_

_Riiiiiiight... So yeah, review._


	4. What A Bastard

_Oh my gosh I'm writing this fast. Here's the next chap. It's a little sad, a little dramatic. Enjoy._

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The next morning, Knuckles and Rouge were getting ready to go to the police station. He'd asked Tails to watch the M.E. because he didn't think it would be polite to ask Amy twice. He also figured she'd be a little preoccupied after last night, if Sonic had listened to his suggestion that is.

Knuckles had been ready for a few minutes when Rouge came out looking nervous. (Sonic Heroes style outfit)

"Okay." She said with a shaky sigh. "Let's go."

"Right." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked her to the door. Tails was already sitting on the altar. He had his laptop open and was typing up some machine plans. "Thanks for doing this Tails." Knuckles said ving him a thumbs-up.

"No problem, Knux. I'm happy to help. Besides, it's peaceful here. I'll have a much easier time working on these schematics here than I would in my busy workshop."

"Heh, well thanks either way." They walked to the edge of the island and flew in the direction of Central City. Rouge flew on her own this time.

When they got to the station. Rouge took a deep breath before entering.

It was busy inside, jumbles of desks and offices with cops running every which way. There was even a police dog here and there.

Rouge went immediately to Detective Leonard's office and knocked. Knuckles noticed the man's name was painted in gold letters on the door.

"Come in." The detective called.

They entered and he smiled at Rouge. "Good to see you again miss. Who's your friend." He asked glancing at Knuckles.

"This is my boyfriend, Knuckles. Knuckles, this is detective Gerald Leonard. I've known him since my mom died."

"Nice to meet you Knuckles." He said, getting up and shaking his hand. "Good to see the little lady has found someone to take care of her."

"Nice to meet you sir. She doesn't need a lot of taking care of though. Rouge is tough." Knuckles smiled at her.

"Hey, you took care of me for the past three months." She gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"That's different, you're limbs were broken." He scowled slightly.

Rouge laughed at his seriousness.

"Yowch." The detective said. "Well glad you're feeling good. Now how about we get down to why you're here."

"Right. Who is he?" She got straight to the point.

"He's a bat like you actually. Named Al. You want to see him? We'll go behind the two-way mirror first."

"Yeah." Rouge scowled slightly. "Do you know if it was an accident, or…?"

"Not sure, he won't confess fully yet. We finally got him when we found an obscure witness."

"They want to be anonymous, or can I send them a thank you card?"

"Anonymous. This guy seems pretty scary."

"Hmm."

"Come on."

He led them down a long, gray hallway filled with doors that had thick locks. He stopped at one and opened it for them to enter.

"There he is." He pointed at the glass where a large, gray male bat sat at a table. He had messy fur and black wings, and looked to be in his late thirties.

Rouge gasped and nearly fell over. Knuckles caught her quickly. "What's wrong?"

She never took her eyes off the man as she spoke. "It's my dad." Her breathing was becoming erratic.

"Woah, calm down. How do you know, I thought you didn't know him?"

"M-my showed me a picture. It's him." She turned around and hid her face in Knuckles' chest. He wrapped his arms comfortingly around her.

"Well then," Detective Leonard said with a frown. "That makes it much less likely it was an accident."

Rouge took a deep breath and turned around. "You want me to talk to him, don't you?"

"Hmm, you know cops well. He won't talk to us. If you can get a confession out of him, we'll have enough to go to court, and send him to jail. I know it's hard, but if you can do it, he'll serve his time for what he did to your mother."

She turned back to the window and stared again. "If I end up smacking him, you won't put an assault charge on me will you? That bastard has done a lot to my mom and me."

The detective smiled. "You're good."

"That counts for me too right?" Knuckles asked.

"Be my guest."

Rouge smiled at the echidna.

"You ready for this?" He asked gently.

"I guess."

They walked out and stood in front of the next door.

Rouge stared at the it, suddenly unsure of what she was about to do.

After a few minutes, she finally turned away.

"I'm scared. Let's just go back Knuckles."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes to make sure she understood him. "Rouge, this is something you have to do. If you don't do this now, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

She stared back still afraid, but she knew he was right. She looked down at the floor . "Your right. I have to do this." She turned back to the door. This was something she had to do, but she didn't have to do it alone. "Knuckles, will you hold my hand?"

He smiled. "Of course."

He wrapped his hand around hers, and suddenly she wasn't as frightened.

She took a deep, shaking breath and opened the door.

They walked in together and stood on the opposite side of the table from Rouge's father.

He was first to speak. "Wow. You look just like your mother."

"Thanks." She used a flat tone.

"Never thought I'd see my baby girl again."

Rouge's fur bristled. "Don't you dare call me that. After everything you did to mom and me…"

"I didn't do nothing to you!"

"You put out a cigarette on my arm!" She screamed and Knuckles eyes widened. "I was two! I still have the scar!" She ripped back her left sleeve to reveal a small, circular burn scar on her forearm.

"Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't remember that."

Knuckles involuntarily let out a low growl.

"Who the hell is this?"

"I'm her boyfriend." His voice was a low rumble.

"Nice. That explains the hand holding."

"How did it happen?" Rouge asked, her voice trembling.

"What?"

"Was it an accident, or did you kill her on purpose?"

"Oh. A little of both I guess. I was drunk, happened to see her in the road, and figured I'd get her back for taking my daughter away." He shrugged as if it was nothing to him.

"You son of a bitch!" Rouge was screaming again. Tears were rolling down her face. "What is wrong with you?! Why would you do that?! It was your own fault we left anyway, and you think _you_ deserve revenge?! Mom was all I had and you took her away from me!" She couldn't yell anymore, so instead she cried into Knuckles chest again.

He pulled her close and glared at Al in a murderous way.

The older bat scoffed. "You think you're tough boy?"

"I think you'd better shut up and not push me unless you want your skull caved in."

"Bring it kid." Al stood up and a cracking sound issued from his back as he stretched.

"Don't test me pal."

"It's no test. It's a challenge."

"You really want to challenge me while your handcuffed?"

"I don't need my hands to take on a punk like you."

Rouge finally looked up and wiped her eyes. "He's not worth it Knuckles. Just forget it."

"Knuckles?" Al laughed. "What's that, some kind of gang name?"

"No, it's the name I was given at birth, because these." He lifted his fists to show his pointed namesakes.

"Impressive. This might be more fun than I thought." Without warning, the bat dove forward kicked at Knuckles hard.

He shoved Rouge aside and caught the foot effortlessly. Without missing a beat , he threw Al into the wall. He just laughed and stood back up, charging once more. Knuckles threw a single punch that landed hard in the man's gut, then he was down on the ground, winded and unable to get up. Knuckles placed a foot on his chest. "I could m mess you up really bad for the things you've done. But I think it would be better to just let you rot in jail, because now you've got confirmed counts of vehicular homicide, DUI, child abuse, and hit-and-run." He kicked him in the side and walked back to where Rouge stood.

"Wow." She said. "I guess you learned a lot about the law from my stories."

"My girlfriend works for the government, I've got to know this kind of stuff." He winked playfully and she smiled.

"You work for the fuzz?" Al groaned from the floor.

"GUN actually. My partner is the infamous Ultimate Life Form." She stared down at her father with contempt.

"Dang, guess you've made a better place for yourself than I thought."

"You bet I have." She glared for a moment more before turning back to the red echidna. "Let's get out of here Knucky, I don't want to waste any more of my time on this freak."

"Sounds good to me." He held her hand again and walked to the door.

Before they left, Rouge turned back one more time. "I'll see you in court, asshole." And with that they walked out. They had hardly closed the door when Detective Leonard came out from the other room.

"Nicely done you two. That's one sick S.O.B. I'll contact you when the court date is set."

"Thank you Detective." Rouge said with a grateful nod.

"Thank you, Agent Rouge." He tipped his hat to her with a grin.

"Don't let it get around." She told him. "Shadow will pissed if our cover gets blown. He doesn't want anyone but his friends and the people he works for to know about what he does. And I'd prefer if I wasn't swamped by reporters."

"Hey, no problem missy. I understand, your secrets safe with me."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"You too Rouge." He waved, and they walked away.

Once outside the station, Knuckles spoke. "So, you ready to go home?"

"Not just yet." Rouge said with a sad look. "There's one more thing I want to do."

"Alright."

They walked a few blocks down. Rouge stopped once to buy a small bouquet of white tulips before they continued. Finally, they came to a cemetery. Rouge walked purposefully toward one grave. She stood in front of it and stared for a moment.

The inscription on the headstone read:

Candida Bat

Loving mother Loyal friend

May your spirit live on

Rouge had small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Knuckles wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him before bending down, and placing the bouquet in front of the stone. "I miss you Mom." she mumbled quietly. They stood there for a few minutes before Rouge was ready to go. She blew a kiss to her mother's grave before they went back to Angel Island.

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_Wooh. I'm tired. Would you believe how quick I'm writing this? It'll probably have like, one or two more chapters and that's it. Let me know what you think. That's a polite way of saying REVIEW! Really, please do, it makes me happy, let's me know whether or not I'm doing a good job. I think I might go take a nap. It's been a long week. Talk to you later._


	5. Wrapping Up

_Okay, last chap. I know it's short, sorry. I just figure there isn't much else I can put in here. For this story anyway. Mwahahahaha! *cough* *hack* *wheeze* Uncharacteristic evil laughter, killing throat... Enjoy._

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A few weeks later, Rouge went to court to testify against her father for the child abuse charge, and as a witness to his confessions. He was sentenced to life in jail, no chance of parole. Knuckles had of course gone with her.

After they left the courthouse, Rouge laughed. "You know," she said. "After all my years of thieving, I never thought I would willingly go to a courthouse. And the fact that I helped put someone else in jail, well that's even more ironic."

"Ironic, sure. But not impossible. People can change, Rouge, and you did a great job there." Knuckles pulled her close as they walked aimlessly down the street.

She smiled. "You were a big help in making me change. If I hadn't met you, there's no telling where I'd be now."

"You're a smart girl Rouge, you would have gotten it right sooner or later."

"You think?"

"Of course. Now why don't we go home and have some family time?"

She laughed again and snuggled against him. "Sounds good to me."

They were silent for a few moments as they walked in the direction of the island, Knuckles still holding Rouge in his arms. Finally, the echidna spoke up.

"Rouge?"

"Hm?" She didn't even look up at him, not wanting to move her head from the warmth of his shoulder.

"I was wondering… Why didn't you tell me about the cigarette burn before?"

"Oh." She was quiet for a few seconds before continuing. "Well, I've never told _anyone_ about it. Mom and I were the only ones who knew. I didn't want anyone to know, that's why I always wear such long gloves. It's not something I'd like to draw attention to. As for why I didn't tell you, I guess I just didn't think it was all that important."

"Well, it's important to me. I want to know everything about you Rouge, no secrets. I care about you a lot, and I don't want anything to happen to you because I didn't know enough about you to prevent it."

She stopped and looked him in the eyes. "Knuckles." She wasn't sure what else to say. "Why do you care about me so much?" She didn't mean it offensively. She really didn't understand. "You're so sweet, and loving, and I don't understand what I did to deserve someone so amazing."

He laughed. "You know, I keep wondering the exact same thing." He placed a hand gently on her cheek. " I love you Rouge. I don't know why or how it happened, but somewhere along the way, I fell madly, head-over-heels in love with you. Everything about you makes me happy, and I just want to keep you safe. We care about each other unconditionally, and we make each other happy. Why should we question something so perfect?"

Rouge almost cried. She'd always felt like nothing ever went right in her life, and now she had the perfect guy, who cared about her truly and deeply. It was like the universe had finally decide to give her break after kicking her around for so long. She did the only thing she could think of: She leaped at Knuckles and pulled him into a deep kiss. The people walking past them in the street stared or grinned, but the two lovers didn't care.

They broke apart a few moments later. Rouge kept her arms wrapped around Knuckles' neck while he had his hands at her hips. "You're amazing." She said, their foreheads touching. "Absolutely, intoxicatingly amazing."

"Gee, thanks." It was all Knuckles could manage. He was blushing bright red.

Rouge laughed and rubbed his nose with hers. "Let's go home Knucklehead."

"Whatever you want, cutey."

And with that they walked off toward Angel Island together, hand-in-hand.

End.

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_Yay, fluffiness! Did you like? Should I write a third story in this series?_

_Slick:YES! DO EEEEEEEEEET!_

_Shove it you! Anywho let me know with a review. I really feel like I should write a third. But only if you guys want me to. If I did it would probably focus on Knuckles' newfound need to protect Rouge._

_Slick: Aw man, that means he'll kick the crap out of me again._

_Yes, yes it does. Anyway, review so I know. I'm gonna go to bed now. Then I should probably finally work on my old Sonamy fic. I love those two, but Knuckles and Rouge seem to ispire me more.-------- OMG mom says I don't have to go to bed yet! I can write more! Squeeeeeeee! *Dashes off*_

_Slick:..... Tell her to write more so I can be evil again. *Blink* Do eeeeeet. *walks away*_


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